The Vampire Diaries showrunner Julie Plec just dropped a big hint that fans could be seeing Nina Dobrev return to the vampire drama before the show airs its series finale next year… but not as Elena.

Fans of The Vampire Diaries have long speculated about the possibility of Nina returning after she opted to leave the series in 2015, though those behind the scenes have stayed seriously tight lipped about Dobrev potentially reprising her character ever since it was announced that Season 8 would be the drama’s last.

However, as fans of The CW drama saw in the latest episode titled “Coming Home Was a Mistake,” new hints appear to suggest that Nina could potentially be back, but in the role of Katharine and not fan-favorite Elena.

[Image by Anthony Harvey/Getty Images for MTV]

As viewers saw, Georgie’s death in the latest episode appeared to be pretty similar to the way Katherine Pierce was dragged to hell back in Season 5, which suggests that Elena’s doppelganger Katherine could somehow manage to find her way back to Mystic Falls despite being killed by Stefan.

Julie dished on the scene in a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, where she hinted that despite receiving a “one way ticket to hell,” Katherine and Georgie could both somehow return before The Vampire Diaries takes its final bow next year, admitting that it was no coincidence that Katherine and Georgie died in such similar ways.

“I will confirm nothing, but the visual similarities are not accidental,” Plec admitted when asked by the site about Nina’s potential The Vampire Diaries return following the latest death.

Though Julie refused to confirm once and for all if Nina Dobrev has now signed on the dotted line for one last The Vampire Diaries appearance, she did elaborate by hinting that just because the two characters were dragged to hell, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re gone forever.

“The big question of the season is: How do our characters fit in this world? Are they all doomed? Is there a chance for redemption? Can you earn your way back out of a one-way ticket to Hell?” The Vampire Diaries showrunner teased. “And even characters that have been heroes, are they already marked? If so, what the hell are they going to do about it?”

Plec’s big The Vampire Diaries tease got fans up in arms on social media, speculating that Nina could actually return as Katherine rather than fan-favorite character Elena, who’s currently in a comatose state, as previously speculated, though the speculation had mixed reactions.

“Honestly I wouldn’t be mad if Nina returned as Katherine even if that means Delena won’t be endgame,” The Vampire Diaries fan and Twitter user @Petrovaskingdom tweeted out, while @mahaayub786 wrote on the social media site, “Katherine is gone for good. I don’t want a single minute of Nina wasted on someone except Elena in [The Vampire Diaries].”

A photo posted by The Vampire Diaries (@vampirediaries) on Nov 18, 2016 at 3:24pm PST

But as fans continue to disagree over the potential Katherine storyline, Julie’s tease of Nina’s return to The Vampire Diaries comes after months of speculation regarding whether or not Dobrev would be back, with Plec most recently telling Digital Spy last week that whether or not Nina would return was all down to the “logistics” of getting Dobrev back on set.

“[Dobrev] said she would [come back] and I want her to,” Julie said of Nina returning to The Vampire Diaries before the Season 8 series finale. “It becomes a matter of logistics,” she continued of Dobrev’s return, “and if we become victim to logistics, then that would be devastating. I’m hoping that’s not even going to be an issue.”

The Vampire Diaries Season 8 airs on Thursday nights on The CW.

Do you think Nina Dobrev could return to The Vampire Diaries as Katherine rather than Elena before Season 8 wraps next year?